1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a work object and, more particularly, to such a method and apparatus which are particularly well suited to the manipulations required in the formation of containers and the like from preformed, flattened blanks of construction material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of industries are dependent upon the assembly and use of work objects in such volume and at such low cost as to require that such operations be fully mechanized. This is particularly true in the assembly and use of containers such as are, for example, used in the packing and shipping of commodities such as fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, canned goods, meat, and a wide assortment of other goods.
For many such industries, it has been found most efficient and otherwise effective to employ cardboard containers. Such containers are comparatively inexpensive, light in weight, sufficiently strong for the prescribed usage and disposable at the ultimate destination. Most prevalent in such use are corrugated cardboard containers which can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes suited to the specific prescribed uses intended. Such corrugated cardboard containers are unusually strong and durable for their cost and weight and thus are excellently suited to serving a multitude of uses. Typically, the manufacturers of such containers produce them in flattened, blank type configurations. These are sold in bulk to users which employ container forming machines to form, or erect, the containers for use. Such users may, for example, be companies which pack and sell, or distribute, any of the aforementioned commodities.
A conventional container forming machine typically receives the container blanks in bulk in a hopper, or magazine. During operation, the machine feeds each blank in succession along a path of travel, applies adhesive at predesignated locations thereon, folds the container blank along preformed score lines and into designed container configurations, compresses portions of the container so that the adhesive adheres to retain the container in the designed configuration and finally discharges the container for use in packing the commodities involved. Such packing is normally also performed on an entirely automated basis by other equipment. It is essential in such container forming machines that the containers be formed and discharged at a high rate of speed to produce the volume of containers required during the packing operation. However, it is also required that the containers, so formed, be dependably of the design configuration required and without variation from container to container so that, for example, the packing equipment is capable of handling, packing and sealing the containers. Variation in these regards from container to container may well render such containers unsatisfactory for use because such mechanized packing equipment is dependent for proper operation in numerous respects on receiving containers only of the designated design configuration and dimensions.
The designs of the containers and, as a consequence, the designs of container forming machines, have become increasingly more sophisticated as technology has advanced. Concomitantly, the demands of the users of such containers for the production of containers of more complex designs better suited to particular uses have increased. Since corrugated cardboard containers are essentially paper and, therefore inherently fragile, there is a particular need in the certain industries for corrugated cardboard containers of greater overall strength and/or of reinforced construction in specific portions thereof. This is true, for example, of industries in which the commodities to be packed are comparatively heavy, or bulky, or irregularly shaped. Such products do not readily interfit with each other within the container when packed. As a consequence, such commodities tend to shift and to leave vacant areas within the container which may contribute to container collapse during packing, shipping, or handling by the end user. More specifically, for example, whole, as well as segmented, meat such as poultry, whether frozen or refrigerated, constitutes a comparatively heavy, bulky and irregularly shaped product which presents particular difficulties in this regard. This is true irrespective of the manner in which such commodities are individually packaged.
As a consequence, the packers, distributors and end users of such products have long sought corrugated cardboard containers which are stronger than have heretofore been available, as a practical matter, and/or reinforced in certain areas, and therefore more suited to the packing of such commodities. While a variety of designs have been created for corrugated cardboard containers of improved strength, their commercial acceptance has been severely limited due to the lack of satisfactory mechanized equipment for forming such containers for subsequent use. Such containers can be formed manually, but no mechanized equipment has existed which was capable of forming such containers in sufficient volume, at sufficient speed and with sufficient precision to make such containers practical for wide spread commercial adoption.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus for forming a work object which have particular utility in the formation of containers; which possess the sensitivity, dexterity and speed required for the formation of cardboard containers of more sophisticated construction; which have the capability of forming cardboard containers from container blanks of a flattened configuration operating to receive the blanks and to fold the blanks into a predesignated configuration; which are unusually well suited to the formation of corrugated cardboard containers to be employed in the packing and shipment of commodities which are relatively heavy, or bulky, or irregularly shaped so that the packed container forms a more unitary mass less susceptible to collapse, or other damage; and which are otherwise entirely successful in achieving their operational objectives.